IPL 2026 Team of the Tournament: Rajat Patidar Leads Best XI, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Among Top Picks

The 2026 IPL season has seen many standout performances, new heroes and broken records. Alongside the experienced performers, a new generation of cricketers have emerged and dominated the competition.

From Rajasthan Royals' teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill and Royal Challengers Bengaluru' captain Rajat Patidar, many players have consistently stood out, with the provisional Team of the Tournament highlighting those who have made the biggest impact this season.

Amongst all this, it is strange to omit Virat Kohli, who, like every other season, has excelled but found himself not even being considered with the competition being so fierce, particularly among the top order batsmen.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Shubman Gill Open the Innings

These were some of the trickiest places to fill on the team sheet. Although Virat Kohli, Sai Sudharsan, Abhishek Sharma and KL Rahul all had tremendous seasons, it is Shubman Gill and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi that make the opening pair.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been one of the stories of IPL 2026. The 15-year-old batter for Rajasthan Royals has scored over 700 runs and has arguably been the most feared batsman in the competition this year. The youngster has broken numerous age records and even surpassed Chris Gayle's record for the most sixes in a single IPL season.

He even went agonizingly close to getting three hundreds, being dismissed in the nineties three times. Sooryavanshi's fearless style of batting tormented both international and domestic bowlers alike throughout the competition.

Alongside him is Gujarat Titans' captain, Shubman Gill. He has answered questions of his T20 technique in some style and has now reached over 700 runs once again, leading Gujarat to yet another successful campaign. He has become the first batsman in IPL history to have two playoff centuries.

The two provide a great contrast in styles of batting. Sooryavanshi attacks from the first ball, while Gill at the other end, holds an anchor.

Ishan Kishan for Fireworks at Number Three

Sunrisers Hyderabad's wicketkeeper-batter, Ishan Kishan, takes the number three spot. Although Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal were considered strongly for this spot, the contribution and strike rate from Ishan Kishan get him a place in the XI.

After winning the T20 World Cup with India, the confidence has continued and Ishan Kishan has scored over 600 runs with a strike rate above 180 and hit six scores above 50 throughout the competition.

His ability to attack from the outset and dominate from ball one makes him one of the most dangerous batsmen in the top order and he provides balance in the eleven.

Rajat Patidar and Heinrich Klaasen Strengthen Middle Order

Rajat Patidar and Heinrich Klaasen make up the middle order of this team and both players have tormented opposition bowling attacks through the course of the season.

Patidar is also captain of the Team of the Tournament, guiding his team to another strong campaign and continuing to be one of the most consistent middle-order batters in the league.

His cool-headed captaincy really stood out in tight situations, while his 486 runs came at an eye-watering strike-rate approaching 200. His 93 off 33 balls in Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans was simply sublime.

If RCB win the title Patidar becomes a rare captain to win back-to-back titles.

Joining Patidar is Heinrich Klaasen, a player who has underlined his claims of being one of the most devastating T20 batters in the world. Sunrisers Hyderabad star, he's the first middle-order batter in IPL history to pass 600 runs in a season when batting only at #4 or below.

He attacked pace and spin and provided multiple match-winning knocks-his 27 runs off one Josh Hazlewood over a particular highlight.

Krunal Pandya and Jason Holder Add Balance

Any dominant T20 team must have all-rounders. This team have two great options in Krunal Pandya and Jason Holder.

Krunal Pandya played a crucial role throughout the season for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and value was demonstrated well beyond pure stats- he consistently delivered in match-winning situations.

His unbeaten 73 off 46 balls against Mumbai Indians was perhaps his most significant of the season, although he was very useful in useful cameo innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans.

With the ball, he has 14 wickets in 13 matches, his variations, accuracy and tactical thinking proving effective through the middle-overs.

Many could pick Kagiso Rabada in this team after his fine season, but this team only has room for two overseas players and he has a superior season than his team mate Holder, yet Holder picked himself in many of the games for the Gujarat Titans despite spending time on the bench in the earlier part of the campaign- he has taken 17 wickets in 10 matches at 16.11 and an economy of just 7.54.

His bowling at various stages of the innings, coupled with his ability with the bat adds vital all-round balance to this side.

Bowling attack featuring Narine, Archer, Bhuvneshwar, Prince

Experience, skill and consistency make up the bowling unit, with Sunil Narine still one of the greatest IPL players. The Kolkata Knight Riders man took 200 IPL wickets during the season and was the first overseas player to take over 200 IPL wickets. Narine took 15 wickets in 13 games, but this doesn’t tell the whole story of how good he was throughout. Narine's economy rate throughout the tournament was exceptional (6.64), constantly shutting down middle overs.

Jofra Archer was brilliant and had his best ever IPL season after finally being fit. The Rajasthan Royals bowler took 25 wickets in 16 games which was more than most. His bowling against the Mumbai Indians in the qualifiers where he took 3/17 in just 4 overs to help keep RR in with a chance in their playoff hope was exceptional.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar also had an exceptional season. His experience is invaluable and as one of the few experienced RCB pacers was one of the best in the competition, particularly with the new ball, but also excellent at the death with his pinpoint yorkers. Bhuvneshwar was outstanding with a Power Play economy rate of 7.03 which was one of the best.

Prince Yadav has been one of the players of the season and the LSG bowler had one of the best break-out years ever in the IPL. LSG were disappointing but Yadav never failed to impress and in his 14 games he took 16 wickets. Yadav's accuracy, control and intelligence make him an incredibly impressive prospect and he has rightly been rewarded with a call up for India against Afghanistan.

Impact Players - Kagiso Rabada, Ashutosh Sharma, Nitish Reddy

As there were no room for overseas stars, Kagiso Rabada finds himself in the list of impact, just incase of a concussion, the proteas pacer might find himself in the XI. He continued his exceptional form and was consistently in the race for the purple cap. His pace, skill and ability to take wickets consistently made him one of the bowlers of the season. He took 28 wickets in 16 games for GT.

Ashutosh Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy are the other two stars who delivered whenever they got a chance. Ashutosh's incredible ability to finish games on batting friendly wickets was also a contender, while Nitish provided great balance with both bat and ball.

The Team of the Tournament has talent at all positions with some of the biggest IPL names missing from this eleven which just goes to show how competitive the 2026 season was. There are several exciting young players in this team alongside some truly elite talent.

IPL 2026 Team of the Tournament: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rajat Patidar (c), Heinrich Klaasen, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Jofra Archer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prince Yadav